The Day of Stars and Wishes
by Beth Winter
Summary: On Tanabata (July 7th) a kindergarten teacher meets two mysterious persons


Genre: Hourfic, fluff, vignette   
Rating: G   
Warnings: None   
Notes: 3rd person POV for OFC   
  
  
THE DAY OF STARS AND WISHES   
  
by Beth (renfri@astercity.net)   
  
  
mini-dictionary:   
tanzaku - narrow colored strip of paper used in Tanabata decorations   
sensei - teacher   
gaijin - foreigner (literally something like 'nowhere-person')   
  
  
  
  
The excited babble of children's voices filled the park. Instead of bouncing around the paths, the pre-schoolers gathered near their teacher, entranced by the way her fingers deftly drew ideograms along narrow strips of colored paper that they attempted to copy in clumsy hiragana on their own tanzaku.   
  
Kinuko paused in her writing to stretch out her hands. She loved her little wards, even though they were sometimes bothersome enough to give her a headache... Still, no wonder. Their parents were never around, instead choosing to leave their offspring to her care. It made for a good living, and a good time, most days. Today they were especially quiet, and she felt proud that she could get them this interested in what was a part of their culture.   
  
She noticed a figure emerging from a tree-lined alley - for a moment, she could have sworn the person had jumped down from one of the trees; she must have been more tired than she thought. She wasn't quite sure whether the newcomer was a boy or a girl, but she pinned his - her? - age at around seventeen.   
  
"What are you doing?" the newcomer asked timidly.   
  
"We're making Tanabata decorations!" little Mariko informed her proudly. "Kinuko-sensei is writing down our wishes, and we'll hang them on bamboo branches and put them in front of the kindergarten!"   
  
The teenager smiled slightly, but still seemed puzzled. "What is Tanabata?"   
  
"It's the Star Festival, Kazuki-chan," another voice said. This boy was a year or two older than "Kazuki", and his golden eyes combined with dark hair made Kinuko think of a predatory cat.   
  
Well, Kinuko thought, that's one mystery solved. Kazuki's a girl's name...   
  
"Hello, I'm Kamui," the boy said politely.   
  
"I'm Saito Kinuko, caretaker of this lot of underage vermin," she laughed. "Kids, just don't tell your parents I said that! To answer your question, Kazuki-san, Tanabata is an old festival that came to Japan from China. Today it's an occasion to have fun and make pretty decorations, but it's a very old tradition that has a lot of stories associated with it."   
  
"For example," 'Kamui' joined in, attracting the children's attention, "do you little guys know why it's called the Star Festival?"   
  
He was answered with a collection of puzzled looks.   
  
"Well, it all happened very long ago, back when the gods still walked the earth. The emperor of Heaven, Tentei, had a beautiful daughter. Her name was Orihime, and the news of her beauty and her skill in weaving were known in all lands. She was the chief weaver of the gods and provided them with all cloth. But she was not happy, for she did not love."   
  
Kazuki looked like she was about to say something, but her friend shushed her.   
  
Kinuko picked up the narrative she knew well. "Her father arranged a marriage for her with Kangyuu, a cowherd who lived across the great star river. Once they met, they fell in love and for a short time, were happy."   
  
"But," 'Kamui' interjected, "Orihime neglected her weaving and her father was furious with her. To make her go back to her work, he banished Kangyuu back to the other side of the great river. The princess cried then, and her tears moved even the heart of the emperor. Tears... they are sometimes the most powerful weapon one can use.   
  
"Finally Tentei relented, and allowed the lovers to meet on one night every year. On the seventh night of the seventh month the boatman of the river would come to ferry Orihime to her beloved. And so it is, and each year for a few hours the lovers are reunited."   
  
"Do the gaijin know this story?" a small boy asked.   
  
"Now, Shota-chan, you know it's not polite to call foreigners that!" Kinuko exclaimed.   
  
"Yes, they do," 'Kamui' smiled. "They call Orihime Vega, and their name for Kangyuu is Altair. The boatman's boat is the moon, and can you tell me what the great star river is?"   
  
"The Milky Way!" Kazuki grinned.   
  
"Exactly. You remember now, Kazuki-chan?"   
  
"Yes, we used to celebrate this... with father..."   
  
One of the little girls still seemed confused by something. "But why do we write wishes today?"   
  
"They used to be prayers to Orihime, Minako-chan," Kinuko explained. "She's a goddess after all."   
  
"Don't you believe that some beings can grant wishes, little one?" the young man asked, playfully ruffling Minako's hair. "But they need to know what they are first. It's not like Orihime can spare the time to read it in your thoughts..."   
  
"Can I write down my wish, too?" Kazuki asked her companion.   
  
"If Kinuko-san doesn't mind?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly.   
  
"Of course not!" she laughed. "Here, Kazuki-san, have a pen and some tanzaku."   
  
"Thank you." Kazuki bowed politely and set down to work.   
  
Kinuko noted that while the girl thought long on every character, once she'd decided her hand was sure and precise. She wondered what might have happened to cause the damage to this lovely girl's mind.   
  
"Did you write down your wish?" 'Kamui' asked.   
  
"Not yet," she grinned. "I guess I don't really have anything I could wish for..."   
  
"But you do," he protested.   
  
"Well, I guess want all my little pupils to grow up safely. I've already lost two to the earthquakes."   
  
"You want them to live," he said.   
  
"Yes."   
  
Kazuki approached them, paper in hand.   
  
"Here, tie this to our bamboo branch," Kinuko directed her.   
  
The silver-haired girl did as she was told, then approached her golden-eyed companion. "Will you write down your wish too?"   
  
"Please do," Kinuko urged him. She winked. "It's important to preserve old traditions!"   
  
The young man considered this for a moment, then picked up a tanzaku.   
  
  
After the two had said their goodbyes and left, Kinuko cursed her curiosity and found Kamui's strip among the others. She wasn't very surprised to find it was a piece of blank paper.   
  
She remembered what he'd said to her before leaving.   
  
"I suggest you take your group on a countryside trip next Monday, Kinuko-san. You want them to live, don't you?"   
  
She shivered in the evening chill and collected her pupils, leading them out of the park and into the city, where it was bright and warm and familiar. And dangerous.   
  
  
  
  
Suginami, which is Tokyo's 8th single member election district, is located in the eastern part of   
Tokyo. It is one of Tokyo's main residential areas and is home to 501,990 of Tokyo's 11,9 million   
big population which makes it one of the biggest Special Wards. Its closeness to Shinjuku makes   
it a very attractive area for company employees. There are no major industries located in   
Suginami.   
Suginami is the host for the Tanabata Festival that takes place in Asagaya in July every year.   
  
  
Tanabata, or the Star Festival, is held on the evening of July 7. The festival traces its origins   
to a legend that the Cowherd Star (Altair) and Weaver Star (Vega), lovers separated by the   
Milky Way, are allowed to meet just once a year--on the seventh day of the seventh month.   
People write their wishes on narrow strips of colored paper and hang them, along with other   
paper ornaments, on bamboo branches placed in the backyards or entrances of their homes.   
They then pray hard that their wishes will come true.   
  
In modern celebrations of Tanabata, people throughout Japan write wishes (generally for themselves or relatives) to the kami (deity) Orihime on colorful strips of paper. On the evening of Tanabata, they tie these paper wishes to freshly cut bamboo. Wishes may be for increased skills in work or school (reflecting specific vitalistic and optimistic values) but may also be for anything that reflects a person's dreams and hopes for the future. Summer vegetables such as eggplant and cucumbers are prepared, and horse or cow figures made out of straw and water oats are decorated.   
  
The Tanabata decorations that I think are the prettiest are the ones with paper cranes and money pouches attached to the   
streamers. Did you know that each Tanabata decoration has a different wish? It seems that after the festival is over almost   
all the decorations are thrown away.   
  
"Long long ago, there was a young lady named Orihime (literally means a weaving lady). One day she welcomed a husband called Kengyu (a man who leads a cow). After their marriage, Orihime quit weaving clothes because Orihime enjoyed spending time with Kengyu rather than her job. It made the God so angry that he sent Kengyu away to the Galaxy which is a long way off from where they lived."   
  
Members of royalty were, of course, associated with the heavens; Tentei (the emperor) being centered at the North Pole. One day, the emperor's daughter, Orihime, was sitting beside the river of heaven (Milky Way). She had been weaving because her father, the emperor loved the beautiful clothes that she made. On this particular day, she was very sad because she realized that she had been so busy that she didn't have time to fall in love. Her father, Tentei, the ruler of the heavens, felt sorry for her and arranged a marriage with Kengyuu (who lived across the river, the Milky Way). Their marriage was one of sweetness and happiness from the start; and everyday thereafter they grew happier and happier. But Tentei became very angry, because in spending so much time in her happy marriage, Orihime was neglecting her weaving. Tentei decided to separate the couple, so he placed them back in their original places, separated by the Milky Way. On only one night of the year would he allow them to meet, the 7th day of the 7th month. Every year on that day, from the mouth of the river (the Milky Way), the boatman (of the moon) comes to ferry Orihime over to her beloved Kengyuu. But if Orihime has not done her weaving to the best of her skills and ability, Tentei may make it rain. When it rains, the boatman will not come (because the river is flooded). However, in such a case, Kasasagi (a group of magpies) may still fly to the Milky Way to make a bridge for Orihime to cross.   
  
  
Tanabata (Star Festival)   
Romanized lyrics   
  
Sasa no ha saara sara   
Nokiba ni yureru   
Ohoshi-sama kira kira   
Kin-gin sunago   
  
English translation   
Bamboo-grass leaves flowing in the wind   
Swinging by the edge of the eaves   
Stars are shining   
Like fine gold and silver sand   
  
  
The Manyoshu is an anthology of ancient poems of the Japanese language, published in 760 AD and one verse goes as follows:   
The evening we meet   
Tanabata is endless   
Tomorrow starts another year   
  
Today in Japan, we write down a wish or sometimes a poem on a Tanzaku, colorful strip of paper, and hang it on a cut bamboo branch placed in front of our houses. After the festival, this bamboo branch is often set adrift on rivers or used as scarecrows in fields, symbolizing ridding of misfortune and calamity. On this day, many temples and shrines hold festivals where people go to pray for good luck in romances and marriage   
  
Sprays of sasaki (the sacret tree of Japan which symbolises purification) with various different decorations, hanging from the top, each with its own meaning accompanies the celebration of this meeting.   
  
Streamers made from colourful washi: symbolise the threads for weaving by Shokujo.   
Senbatsuru: (tsuru-crane) a crane made from origami, wishes for the safety and health of the family. In Japan cranes portray a life of 1000 years, and cranes can fly all the way to the Milky Way.   
Tanzaku: Small rectangular shaped paper with wishes written on it. Portrays the wish for knowledge and progress in calligraphy.   
Kamigoromo: Paper Kimono, symbolise a person and thought to take away illness and accidents instead of a real person. It also symbolises progress in ones sewing ability.   
Kuzukago: Trash bags, symbolise cleanliness and thriftiness, necessary for the functioning of a good society.   
Kinchaku: A large purse bag wishes for thriving business, symbolising a cloth bag closed with a string, used long ago.   
Toami: Net for fishing (often cut from paper) portrays harvest. Fishermen and farmers wishing for their businesses to thrive.


End file.
